SENATOBIA – The visiting East Mississippi Lions got 19 points each from Colin Borchert and D.J. Evans and held off a late run from Northwest to earn a hard-fought 65-61 road win over the Rangers Monday night – their 12th consecutive victory overall.
East Mississippi improved to 15-2 overall and maintained a three-game lead in the north at an unblemished 8-0. Northwest fell to 8-9 overall and 4-4 in the north division. It marked the Lions' 10th-straight win in the series dating back to the 2007-08 season.
After EMCC darted out to a quick 10-0 lead four minutes into the contest, Bernard Jones' pair of free throws finally got the Rangers on the scoreboard at the 15:46 mark. EMCC would maintain their advantage throughout the opening 20 minutes
Evans scored 12 of his 19 points in the opening half, draining three 3s including one with 10 seconds left in the period that quieted a 9-2 Northwest run and gave the Lions a 34-28 lead at the break.
EMCC would open the second half with a 9-1 run to take its largest lead of the game at 14 points, 43-29.
The Rangers, however, would not lose composure and slowly chipped away at the double digit deficit.
Fueled by a huge dunk by Jordan Hulsey, who caught it off the rebound and slammed it home, Northwest put together a game-changing 22-7 run that ended with Kenyatta Jones' driving layup and Northwest's only lead, 51-50 with 6:56 to play.
EMCC responded out of a timeout and got it to Evans, who stepped up to knock down a clutch 3-pointer that put the Lions back on top for good, 53-51.
After neither team scored for almost four minutes down the stretch, Everick Morris made it a three-point game, 61-58, with 21 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing inbounds pass, Evans fumbled the ball out of bounds right in front of the Ranger bench, giving Northwest the ball by its own basket with a chance to tie the game and possibly send it to overtime.
But Domonique Harris' quick trigger 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining bounced off the rim no good.
Evans and the Lions then hit four consecutive free throws over the final 11 seconds to seal the win.
Harris led Northwest for a fourth consecutive game off the bench, scoring 15 points, while both Jones and Morris added 14 apiece. Hulsey, the nation's field goal leader at 74 percent, finished with seven points on 2-of-3 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three blocks.
Northwest will step out of conference play on Thursday, traveling to East Central (1-16) for an 8 p.m. tipoff in Decatur. Ranger fans can follow live stats for Thursday's game by clicking here.
